Boats, tanks, etc.

[Upwelling]

hi everyone,
On the boat trips in the Tampa area (for recreational dives), do people usually bring their own personal tanks or does the boat provide AL80's? I know that the practice is different in some parts of the country. Thanks.

 

[giles45shop]

I would say it's up to the individual boat, just ask the captain. When I go out w/ Capt Tye, I've done both. Before I had two DIN tanks, I would rent one from him and bring one (for 2 tank trips). Now that I have two, I bring my own.

John

 

[K Mejean]

Giles45shop is right. The boat captain decides. The charter I go out on most of the time (Scuba Quest ) supplies your tanks but I have noticed that most others do not. If you are diving Nitrox you definately want to take your own. If you don't it becomes a royal pain checking tanks just before you get on the boat. Usually makes you run late and you lose the good spots and are in a rush to keep up. That's my experience anyway. As far as I am concerned for the minimal amount of money it takes to buy a couple of tanks and keep them maintained it is well worth it. You know your equipment and can trust it. Even though tanks are not as complex as the rest of your gear things can still go wrong and they are your life support. Some people say just rent them but I have a hard time trusting anyones equipment that isn't mine.

 

[Upwelling]

thanks for the info. I will be using Nitrox so that's good to know. This actually makes it more attractive to just go ahead and buy the tanks, since I'll get more use out of them

 

[K Mejean]

I don't regret buying mine. I am up to 4 and a pony bottle. It makes it very easy to dive whenever you want. Shore dive boat dive... whatever.

 

[Scoobahdood]

I agree with GTD's viewpoint! :14:

 

[Upwelling]

in the long run they'll pay for themselves--I'll just have to make sure I get a lot of dives in

I don't regret buying mine. I am up to 4 and a pony bottle. It makes it very easy to dive whenever you want. Shore dive boat dive... whatever.